1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to furniture and, more particularly, to a mounting apparatus for removably securing a plurality of independent seating sections together in a side-by-side configuration in modular fashion to form a loveseat, sofa or the like.
2. Discussion
Present day sofas now often incorporate one or more seating sections which function as recliners to provide a significant degree of added comfort when compared with many conventional sofas incorporating a single fixed seating arrangement. Such sofa assemblies incorporating one or more recliner seating sections enable the owner to "customize" a sofa assembly to fit her/his specific needs and lifestyle.
With sofa assemblies as described above, it has heretofore been necessary to secure the recliner section(s) of the sofa together with the remaining seating section(s) via use of a permanent frame, usually constructed integrally with the various seating sections at the factory. Accordingly, when the sofa assembly is shipped it must be shipped as one single, relatively large structure.
While the permanent frame has proved to provide good structural strength to the sofa assembly, it would be desirable to provide removable frame-like apparatus to secure the various sections of a modular sofa assembly together after the assembly has reached its destination. This would significantly ease the shipping and handling of such sofa assemblies as the various components thereof could be shipped and handled independently. At the destination, the ability to individually handle the components of the sofa assembly would contribute to much easier handling of the sofa assembly when transporting it, for example, within hallways and through doorways of rooms in a home, apartment or even an office. By being able to handle individual sections of a sofa assembly independently, the entire sofa assembly is capable of being handled and transported through such areas where the completely assembled sofa assembly might be too large and cumbersome to handle or transport. In addition, it is desirable to include three or more reclinable seating units in a sofa assembly. The added weight of these additional recliner units would make a typical sofa heavy and difficult to handle and transport, whereas the individual seating units are easily handled and transported if detached from the sofa assembly.
It would further be desirable if such a frame-like mounting apparatus as described above incorporated some means for enabling the modular sections of the sofa assembly to be laterally adjusted to compensate for slightly varying thicknesses of fabric and padding. The need for allowing some adjustability in a frame-like mounting apparatus as described above is particularly acute when one or more recliner chair sections are included to form the modular sofa assembly. The recliner sections must be able to recline freely with a minimum amount of friction from adjacent stationary seating sections, and yet the clearance between the recliner sections and other sections of the sofa assembly must not be so great as to allow unnecessary gap clearance between adjacent seating sections of the sofa assembly. Such a mounting apparatus is disclosed in the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,253, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The advantage of such a frame-like mounting apparatus as described in the above referenced U.S. Patent is the flexibility in changing the configuration of the sofa assembly as the needs of the owner change. For example, if the sofa assembly was originally purchased with three sections, the owner could at a later time eliminate the center section and reinstall the two other sections on shorter frame rails to achieve a loveseat configuration. Accordingly, there would be no need for the owner to order an entire new sofa assembly comprising only two sections if the owner desired to utilize the sofa in a location with space restrictions or for other reasons.
Still additional advantages would be derived from a frame-like mounting apparatus which comprises individual frame members associated with each of the individual sofa assembly sections. These frame members could be easily and rigidly interconnected within the home or office to secure the seating sections together. The interconnecting links and frame members would be small and lightweight such that the average homeowner would easily be able to assemble the sofa or loveseat unit. In addition, the largest frame members would be no longer than an individual sofa section is wide. Therefore, frame members as long as the desired sofa are not required. Also, to convert the unit from a two, three, four or more section unit would not require obtaining additional frame members. Instead the seating units themselves could simply be connected together. The individual frame members as well as the interconnecting links would also provide for the foregoing discussed lateral adjustment.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a mounting apparatus for a modular sofa assembly which may be removably secured to the various seating sections of the sofa assembly at the factory or at the destination where the sofa assembly is to be installed.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a mounting apparatus which may be secured to various sections of a modular sofa assembly quickly, easily and without any special tools.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a mounting apparatus which incorporates means for adjustably positioning adjacent seating sections of a modular sofa assembly to thereby compensate for varying thicknesses in fabric, cushioning, etc. of the various seating sections.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mounting apparatus for a modular sofa assembly which enables a particular seating section, for example, a fixed seating section to be detached from the apparatus and substituted with another seating section, for example, a reclining seating section.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a mounting apparatus which may be easily and conveniently shipped and handled together with independent seating sections to which the apparatus is ultimately to be secured.